Some Hybrids Could Be Used as Cabs Under Proposed Rule

By MATT FLEGENHEIMER

March 29, 2013

Faced with a lawsuit aimed at blocking New York’s so-called Taxi of Tomorrow because it is not a hybrid, the Bloomberg administration has proposed a compromise: Some owners can buy hybrids, as long as they are big enough.

The city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission said on Friday that the proposed rule, which will be discussed at a public hearing in May before coming to a vote, should quell any concerns from environmentalists and medallion owners who want to use hybrids.

But the group that brought the lawsuit, the Greater New York Taxi Association, said that the proposal was too strict, requiring every hybrid to have a large interior, at least 138 cubic feet, similar to that of a van or sport utility vehicle. The size is the same as that of the Taxi of Tomorrow, the Nissan NV200, the carmaker says.

“These rules look like they have been created to short-circuit the litigation,” the group said in a statement. “We do not consider this to be a serious proposal.”

The group, whose members operate many fuel-efficient cabs, noted that popular hybrids like the Prius and Camry from Toyota have interior volumes far smaller than 138 cubic feet.

The proposal came months after the group’s lawsuit raised doubts about whether the Taxi of Tomorrow would ever reach the road in its current form.

According to the suit, the city’s Administrative Code requires the commission to allow hybrid cars as an option for taxi operators. The Taxi of Tomorrow, not currently available as a hybrid, is to be the sole car permitted for nearly all operators, and is scheduled to be phased in beginning this year.

David S. Yassky, the city’s taxi commissioner, said the Taxi of Tomorrow would eventually be available as a hybrid as well. The proposal, he said, ensures that “any hybrid taxi is spacious enough to comfortably accommodate passengers and luggage.”

As the winner of the city’s Taxi of Tomorrow competition two years ago, Nissan secured a 10-year contract to manufacture virtually all of the city’s 13,000 cabs.

The city has hailed the NV200’s distinctive features, including transparent roof panels and “lower-annoyance” horns, but the choice of the vehicle has drawn criticism from proponents of hybrids and advocates of wheelchair-accessibility.

The car is not wheelchair-accessible, though it can be retrofitted to become so. Last year, John C. Liu, the city comptroller, rejected the agreement with Nissan, though it was not clear what practical effect the move had.